The information-sharing covered medical facilities, including al-Shifa hospital

US Shared Location of Aid Groups With Israel.
Israel Bombed Them Anyway
Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com

November 21, 2023) — POLITICO reported Tuesday that the US has been sharing with Israel the location of humanitarian groups in Gaza in an attempt to prevent strikes on the sites. But Israel has been bombing them anyway.

The information has included GPS coordinates of a number of medical facilities and the movement of aid groups inside Gaza. Among the sites the US shared with Israel was al-Shifa hospital, which Israeli forces raided last week, causing the medical facility to cease functioning and the deaths of dozens of patients, including eight premature babies.

The US has tried to deflect blame for Israel’s attack on al-Shifa and other hospitals. The White House has said it doesn’t “want to see hospitals as battlegrounds,” but the US continues to provide unconditional military aid for Israel’s operations despite the massive civilian casualty rate.

The POLITICO report said it’s unclear if the US has provided Israel with a “no-strike” list or if it’s just offering guidance. Considering the White House has also said it’s not setting “red lines” for Israel’s onslaught, it’s unlikely the US is demanding certain sites are off limits.

Aid workers have said Israel has abandoned practices it has used before to prevent attacks on aid groups, such as a deconfliction line. “There is really no justification for the lack of a functioning deconfliction channel with aid groups,” a senior aid group official told POLITICO. “The IDF is familiar with deconfliction practices and has put a channel in place in previous conflicts.”

Some aid groups turned to the US last month to help protect their workers. But after the US engaged with Israel on the location of aid groups’ offices, houses, and medical facilities, the attacks continued. Israel’s frequent targeting of aid groups is demonstrated by the fact that over 100 aid workers with the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees have been killed in Gaza since October 7.

MSF Says Three Doctors Killed
In Strike on North Gazan Hospital
Emma Farge / Reuters

GENEVA (November. 21, 2023) — French medical charity Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) said on Tuesday that three doctors, including two of its own, were killed in a strike on the Al Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, saying it was “horrified” by the incident.

“MSF has regularly shared information about Al Awda as a functioning hospital and the presence of its staff in Al Awda to warring parties,” it said in a statement. “GPS coordinates were also shared with Israeli authorities yesterday.”

It named the doctors as Dr Mahmoud Abu Nujaila (MSF), Dr Ahmad Al Sahar (MSF) and Dr. Ziad Al-Tatari. “Seeing doctors killed next to hospital beds is beyond tragic, and this must stop now,” it said.

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.

Deadly Israeli Airstrikes Kill Two
Journalists in Southern Lebanon
Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com

Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli snipers in May 2022.
A total of 53 journalists have been killed in the conflict since October 7.

(November 21, 2023) — Lebanese officials have said that two journalists were killed by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, bringing the total number of journalists killed since October 7 to 53.

The journalists worked for the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen. The media outlet said its correspondent, Farah Omar, was killed alongside cameraman Rabih Me’mari in the village of Tayr Harfa. Another civilian was reported killed in the strike, according to The New York Times.

The Israeli military claims it was targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and said it was aware of reports of journalists being killed in the strike. In a statement, the Israeli military appeared to shift the blame on the journalists for being where they were.

In 2016, the US bombed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan, killing 42.

“We are aware of a claim regarding journalists in the area who were killed as a result,” the military said, according to AP. “This is an area with active hostilities, where exchanges of fire occur. Presence in the area is dangerous.”

The strike brings the total number of journalists killed by Israel in Lebanon since October 7 to three. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 46 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza, and four Israeli journalists were killed during the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. For comparison, CPJ has recorded 17 journalists killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion last year.

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